2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball team

Preseason

On October 28, 2008, the Owls were picked by other Atlantic 10 coaches to finish second, behind Xavier, and received 12 first place votes. Dionte Christmas was chosen to the Preseason First Team after leading the league in scoring the past two seasons. Lavoy Allen was named to the Preseason Defensive Team.

Roster

Schedule

end_year = 2009| bgcolor = #FFFFFF| color = #FF0000 bgcolor = #FF0000| color = #FFFFFF}} |- align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" | 1 | November 14 | East Tennessee State | W 79–65 | Dionte Christmas – 26 | Lavoy Allen – 15 | Christmas/Semaj Inge – 6 | Carolina First Arena, Charleston, SC (527) | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" | 2 | November 15 | College of Charleston | W 70–65 | Christmas – 26 | Allen – 12 | Luis Guzman – 5 | Carolina First Arena, Charleston, SC (2,532) | 2–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFE6E6" | 3 | November 16 | Clemson | L 76–72 | Ryan Brooks – 19 | Guzman – 7 | Guzman – 7 | Carolina First Arena, Charleston, SC (3,026) | 2–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#D8FFEB" | 4 | November 21 | Lafayette | W 71–55 | Christmas – 29 | Christmas – 12 | Christmas/Guzman – 3 | Allan P. Kirby Arena, Easton, PA (3,297) | 3–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFE6E6" | 5 | November 29 | Buffalo | L 83–73 | Christmas – 25 | Christmas – 6 | Guzman – 7 | Alumni Arena, Buffalo, NY (2,035)

Season

Preconference season

Dionte Christmas scored 35 points to lead Temple past #8 Tennessee on December 13 88–72. This was Temple's first win over a top ten team since the 2006 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament, when the Owls upset #6 George Washington; John Chaney was coaching Temple at the time. The Owls started the game with an 8–0 lead and never faltered, with Tennessee only tying the score at 15 and never leading. Christmas started the second half with a three-pointer and scored three consecutive threes on a 17–6 run. For the game, he was 7-for-14 from the perimeter and 12-for-22 from the field. Sergio Olmos's 19 points were a career high, and Ryan Brooks registered a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Postseason

Temple was given a four seed in the 2009 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament; they received a bye and faced Saint Joseph's in the quarterfinals.

In the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Temple was seeded eleventh in the South Regional, where they faced the sixth-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils in the first round. On March 20, 2009, behind a then career-high 22 points by Sun Devil Derek Glasser, Arizona State eliminated Temple 66–57. The Owls never had a lead, but cut the deficit to 52–49, the closest the game ever got. Temple's offense went without a field goal in the final 5:02. However, their defense held Arizona State star James Harden to nine points, less than half his season average, and 1-of-8 shooting. Dionte Christmas played all 40 minutes, shot 5-for-11 from behind the arc and scored 29 points in his final collegiate game.

References

References

1. (22 October 2009). "Team Preview: Temple". [[ESPN]].
2. "2009–10 Temple Men's Basketball Media Guide: Preview". [[Temple University]].
3. (October 28, 2008). "Xavier The Choice To Seize 2008–09 A-10 Men's Basketball Title". [[Atlantic 10 Conference]].
4. (December 13, 2008). "Christmas' season-high 35 points lead Temple past No. 8 Tennessee". ESPN Internet Ventures.
5. (March 11, 2009). "2009 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament". Cox Ohio Publishing.
6. (March 20, 2009). "Harden struggles, but Arizona State still puts away Temple". ESPN Internet Ventures.